81 sleeps before Christmas!

Was too tired to write last night- visited a fab. Christmas display at my local garden centre. There was Christmas music and wonderfully decorated Christmas Trees- I was so entranced. I bought a new garland for my stair banister- it's silver with white LED lights. I'll just have to remember to introduce it to our puppy over a few days before I put it up, so she'll (hopefully!) ignore it.

My puppy is a beautiful, but boisterous labrador. I have decided not to buy any further red decorations as, so far, she has chewed up a pair of red gloves, a red jumper and a pair of brand new red shoes

I don't know about you, but I'm always tempted to redecorate, or buy new furniture, intime for Christmas. I'm not convinced that it's the best time for that sort of thing, as shops obviously are aware of this trend and are all publishing their last order dates for delivery in time for Christmas- I'm sure there must be better times of the year to get the lowest prices for items such as sofas, TV's etc? What do you think?

Still, I may just buy some paint and spruce up the kitchen....

Back to bargains, I've had notification that Currys have a sale on. They seem to have some good prices on microwave ovens (I know because mine has broken an I need a new one), and they stock the new range of iPods and game consoles such as the XBox Elite.

I should be able to find the predicted top toys for the UK in about 5 days time- I keep being asked for this so I will publish information as soon as I have it. Just for your information, the three toys my youngest son (aged 7)seems most keen on are:

1. Eyeclops

2. Nintendo DS Console

3. Spy Gear Spy video car

He also loves anything to do with Pokemon

Stockings, chocolates and other goodies!

I've noticed that a lot of shops have got their Christmas chocolates in stock, and a few have got some good offers. I've seen the Christmas stockings with chocolates and the large selection boxes at 2 for £5.00, and the medium selection boxes at 2 for £3.00. The large tins of chocolates are also beginning to appear. I bought early last year, but did notice that the price got cheaper towards Christmas as the supermarkets battled for the lowest price- not sure if this will happen this year though.

With 83 days to go I've now:

1. Set my budget

2. Listed the gifts I'm going to buy for family and friends

3. Had a look around the shops and online stores to find the best prices

4. Started to place orders/ buy gifts that I think are keenly priced at the moment.

I must say that some of the best prices for DVD's have been on the Play.com website. They have a sale on at the moment, and this, together with some great prices on the hot movies for Christmas (including The Simpsons Movie, Shrek the Third, Transformers and Harry Potter) make it a site definitely worth a look.

Looking forward to tomorrow as I'm going to have a look around the new Christmas displays at my local garden centre. I'll make sure I'm playing my favourite Doris Day Christmas album to make sure I'm feeling totally festive. With the nights starting to draw in I really feel Christmas is just around the corner!

Christmas Blues Already?

There are now 85 days to go to The Holidays!

I'm still raring to go, but a close friend of mine seems to have the Christmas Blues already. I was telling her about my Christmas blog and she said she was going to go away and put her head under her pillow and hope it would all go away! Why? Because she had recently gotten divorced and just the thought of Christmas alone is filling her with horror.

I realise that this is an issue for a lot of people. Christmas can be a fabulous time filled with fun and gift giving, but it can also be the most stressful time of year due for a variety of reasons.

My friend told me that she intends to go away this Christmas. She's thinking about getting some winter sun in the Canaries, or Egypt- her theory is that the sun will make it less christmassy for her as she's usually up to her neck in freezing cold weather in December (she lives in Scotland). She's searching now for prices and she's hoping that two of her other friends to go with her. I'm sure that she'll have a great time, and it just means that her Christmas will be different, but still fab, this year.

I've never been away for Christmas day, but for the last two years have been away the week before, getting home Christmas Eve. The first year we did this took the kids to Orlando. It was so magical with the festive decorations and the Holiday music playing in the parks. We saw The Grinch in his grotto at Universal which all but my youngest loved. We also went to Mickeys Very Merry Christmas Party and had hot chocolate and cookies watching the parade- that for me was the best! I was so organised before we went, and I ordered my last minute food to be delivered on 23 December- which my sister kindly put away for me. We arrived home early on Christmas Day morning, had a snooze and were up bright and breezy late morning for a busy Christmas Day.

The second year we went to the Canaries (Lanzarote to be precise). It was warm and relaxing, but for me not Christmassy enough. We had a good time, and flew back very late Christmas Eve to a car that wouldn't start. We got home at about 4:00 am Christmas morning - couldn't get to sleep because we were so worked up about the stupid broken down car and we were very tired through most of Christmas day. After that last experience we WON'T be going away and flying home Christmas Eve again!

Not sure how I feel about being away all over Christmas. There are some tempting places to go to. I did love Orlando at Christmas time, and New York looks so festive with the wonderful window displays and ice rinks. Skiing in Canada or mainland Europe would be great with all that snow. For some, the sun beckons and I know lots of people who escape to warmer climes, but that's not for me (or at least not this year!) If it were left to me husband though, I'm sure he'd say to forget the whole Festive thing, pack the bags and go find some rays!

Since I have had both good and bad experiences fitting in a break before the Christmas festivities begin, I've put together my top tips for making the whole experience as stress free as possible.

My Top Ten Tips for a stress free Christmas if you take a pre-Christmas break

1. Decide your budget (including your pre-Christmas break, spending money, presents, cards, decorations, food etc)
2. Make gift lists as early as possible (October or even earlier)
3. Plan your food menu for at least Christmas and Boxing Day (the grocery shops are open from 27th December), make your grocery list and buy non-perishable items early.
4. Put your Christmas tree up early to get the full benefit (this is easier if it's an artificial tree. Fresh trees can shed a lot of needles whilst you are away!)
5. Put your house decorations up as early as possible to get the full benefit or your efforts.
6. If you are happy to freeze meat and vegetables, or buy frozen, then these can be bought early and popped in the freezer. Just remember that if you have a frozen turkey and you don't arrive home until Christmas Eve, you may need to ask someone to remove it from the freezer for you before you get home. Fresh vegetables can be blanched then frozen.
7. If you must have everything fresh, then you could possibly order your fresh vegetables and meat online and have a friend or family member accept the delivery for you.
8. Complete your gift shopping at least two weeks before you go away.
9. Complete your gift wrapping and labelling at least one week before you go away.
10. Leave the final week before you go away for preparations for you break- checking tickets, packing etc

Top 15 Toys for 2007 and only 86 days left to buy them!

I found some interesting statistics today. The average spend on Christmas gifts in 2006 was £378 per person in the UK according to Deloitte - and over £7.7bn was spent online based on information from IMRG. That's a lot of money!

Every year my family says Christmas is too commercialised and that we won't succumb to the spend-fest of the Holidays. But it is very difficult not to be drawn into the frenzy. However, I do set budgets and I have just put together a spreadsheet to help me budget this year. Email me if you would like a copy.

My kids are not overly demanding, but they do get influenced by the top toy trends like most. Sometimes, however, I think the kids only get into this behaviour because of us parents. One year I remember queueing up outside Toys R Us at 5.00am, hoping to get a Telly Tubby. I had no idea what hey were- my child had never seen them on TV, but I had been sucked into media frenzy and convinced myself that if my child didn't have one of these for Christmas then I was a terrible mother! I did manage to get one- the green one- I didn't even know it's name at the time! The toy did become one of my young son's treasured soft toys, so I suppose there was a happy ending!

Still there is nothing worse then disappointed children on Christmas morning, and as we live in a society that is heavily influenced by trends, I guess we just have to go along with them to a degree. I have found the predicted Top 15 toy list for the USA. This list was issued by Toys R Us on 27 September 2007 and is in alphabetical order:

• Aqua Dots(TM) Super Studio from Spin Master (TM)


• ClickStart(TM) My First Computer from LeapFrog(R)


• Daisy Pocket Mod from Razor (TM)


• Eyeclops(TM) from JAKKS Pacific(R)


• Geotrax(TM) Rail and Road System (Grand Central Station) from Fisher-Price(R)


• Guitar Hero(TM) III: Legends of Rock Game and Guitar Controller from Activision(R)


• Hannah Montana in Concert Collection Doll from Play Along(R)


• Made For Me MP3 Music Player from Playskool(R)


• Monopoly(R): Boutique Edition from Hasbro(R) Games


• Shining Stars from Russ Berrie & Co.


• SMART CYCLE(TM) Physical learning Arcade System from Fisher-Price(R)


• T.M.X. Friends from Fisher-Price(R)


• TRANSFORMERS(TM) ULTIMATE BUMBLEBEE(TM) from Hasbro(R)


• XPV(TM) R-A-D Robotic Air Defense(TM) from JAKKS Pacific(R)

I haven't got the list for the UK yet- it will no doubt have some of these toys on, but there may be a few differences. I'm expecting a list to be available in early October and as soon as I find it I will put it on the blog.

In my view missing from the list are the gadgets such as the new Ipods, game consoles such as the XBox 360 Elite and the still popular Nintendo DS.
It's October tomorrow- time for Doris!!!!

Only 87 days...

Bought a 3-in-1 winter jacket yesterday. A bargain from Costco. It is warm and cosy, and I put it on when I went shopping this morning. The weather warmed up though, and I had to take out the inner liner as I was roasting hot!

Still, never deterred by warm weather, I was still on the hunt for pre-Christmas bargains. Woolworths have a fabulous half price toy sale on at the moment. I bought two wonderful dressing up outfits for two of my nieces and some stocking fillers. Had a mooch around the mall and a coffee with my mum. Is it just me that thinks coffee is just too expensive in these coffee shops? The most expensive ones always seem the most crowded! What happened to a cheap and cheerful cuppa and a chat? (Sorry to rant).

The shops are just starting to get their festive displays in place. I know it's still officially September, but once the kids are back in school I think the months fly by and Christmas just appears before you know it! The garden centres near to my home have advertised their Christmas Display Launches for next week- and I'm going to one on Thursday. I can't wait! I know I sound a bit sad, and no, I don't get out much!

I'm still collating my best pre-christmas bargains. So far, PC World seem to have some good online prices for things like digital cameras and PC's (if you are looking for a laptop etc for that someone special!). They also have the new range of Ipod's which are no doubt going to be on a lot of wish lists this year. The Big Red Warehouse have a lovely range of character toys and my youngest has been eyeing the site up hopefully! I will list good sites as I find them, and if I hear of sales or real bargains I'll let you know (like this weekend's Next sale).

Hope you get some bargains! Thanks for reading!

88 days to go

Still on the subject of bargains and sales, Next has a sale starting tomorrow (Saturday). It will be online with NEXT Directory aswell as instore. Might be worth getting some early bargains in the mid season sale!

Catch up with my main blog later!

89 days and counting

Just bought my first chocolate tree decorations today. I've hidden them in the back of the cupboard- not because the kids will get them, but because my dog will!

I'm starting to think about Christmas lists and budgets. I'm fed up of overspending. I say every year that I won't, but I always seem to have a last minute panic and spend too much on a last minute splurge. This year I will NOT do this. I plan to be a bit boring and have a Christmas spreadsheet for all my gifts, food and decorations. I will not over buy on the food (the shops are only closed for a couple of days!) and I do not intend to be looking at a pile of Christmas tat that no one is interested in, and that I've just spent a months salary on.

So, this week I am:

1. Putting together a spreadsheet listing everyone I intend to buy gifts for, together with three things they like the most. This will give me some inspiration for gifts.


2. Set a budget for each person.


3. Go to the stores (and search online) for gift ideas.


4. Think of the theme I'm going to have this year for the house decorations- it won't be very different from the one we have every year as I don't believe in throwing away perfectly good decorations. However, I may add a new stair garland that is dog-proof (new dog in the family!) and replace the glass baubles with plastic ones for the tree (again thinking about the dog!)


5. Set the budget for any new decorations, lights etc.


6. Begin to think about food- but I won't plan the menu just yet.

Part of my search for gift ideas will include searching for best prices and seeing if there are any bargains around at the moment. I reckon that if you shop wisely, you can save atleast 30% on gifts if you shop early. I'm not saying that you will get all your presents at bargain prices, but you may well get the stocking fillers, and the gifts for your extended family and friends at greatly reduced prices if you shop in the pre- Christmas sales.